Chapter 62: Withdrawing from the Battlefield and Deploying the Wheat Harvest Offensive Across Two Counties!

After a short while, the soldiers finished clearing the battlefield, and Liu Changqing tallied up the captured spoils.

There were over 200 usable rifles, 20 Type 11 light machine guns, 2 heavy machine guns, 1 infantry gun, 1 mountain gun, over 40,000 rounds of ammunition, over 100 artillery shells, 15 grenade launchers, and over 300 specialized rounds. Additionally, there were 30 damaged trucks, a number of firearms, and another infantry gun and mountain gun.

(As the artillery unit grew more familiar with the infantry and mountain guns, the artillerymen didn't even need platoon or company commanders like Wang Dachang to intervene; they assembled usable infantry and mountain guns entirely on their own.)

Considering that they were not far from the railway, the Japanese army could transport troops very quickly, and more reinforcements might be on the way. Zhang Yun ordered a retreat from the battlefield to assemble in the valley where they had rested in the afternoon.

With the cooperation of the guerrillas, the troops transported the numerous spoils of war and successfully returned to the valley.

Here, Zhang Yun and his men rendezvoused with the 3rd Company, the rescued civilians, and the county cadres. Seeing that the Independent Detachment had won another great victory—especially capturing infantry and mountain guns—everyone broke out into a lively commotion.

Zhang Yun once again summoned the company commanders, Guerrilla Captain Tian, and comrades from the county committee to jointly discuss their next direction.

Liu Changqing took out his small notebook once again and earnestly reported the casualties and results of the surprise attack on the stronghold and the ambush on the reinforcements.

"In the two battles, we had a total of 1 warrior killed in action and 3 warriors lightly wounded."

"Across both battles, we killed over 550 Japanese soldiers and more than 170 puppet troops, captured over 40 puppet troops, seized a large quantity of firearms and ammunition, and captured one infantry gun and one mountain gun each."

"Currently, our troops have abundant food supplies, plenty of bullets and hand grenades, over 200 surplus rifles, 16 Type 11 light machine guns, 3 heavy machine guns, and nearly 20 grenade launchers."

"However, mortar shells have become severely depleted. We only have 98 rounds for 82mm mortars and 101 rounds for 60mm mortars."

Everyone knew about the capture of 900 mortar shells that afternoon, but no one expected them to be almost completely expended already. Only then did they realize why the Independent Detachment was so sharp and ruthless against the Japanese—the sheer volume of shells consumed by artillery surprise tactics was simply staggering.

While marveling at the consumption, everyone discussed their next direction. Since mortar shells were running low, they could no longer engage the main Japanese forces head-on. They either had to return to their base for reorganization or employ guerrilla tactics, first luring the Japanese into the mountains and then seeking out combat opportunities.

Zhang Yun listened to the discussion without saying a word. Studying the map and carefully analyzing the surrounding enemy situation, he suddenly realized that launching a wheat harvest offensive in the regions of Yuci and neighboring Shouyang County would be a good idea. Both counties had extensive mountainous terrain, and many towns and villages were currently controlled by the Japanese. If they could "occupy" them, they would acquire a massive amount of supplies once again.

Dwelling on his future plans, Zhang Yun made up his mind, interrupted the discussion, and began issuing deployments:

"Changqing, look at the map—Changning Town and Dongzhao Township in Yuci, along with several towns in Shouyang County in the northern West Taihang Mountains. These townships are all in the mountains, but because they are close to the Zhengtai Railway, it is convenient for the Japanese to transport troops into the mountains, and they have already been occupied by Japanese and puppet forces. However, these places are far from the core Japanese areas after all, and the enemy strongholds are very small. In some towns, there are only puppet troops or traitors' maintenance associations in charge."

"Right now, we have plenty of firearms, but we're short on shells. Since we can't take on the main Japanese forces, we'll deal with these small strongholds instead!"

"You will lead two infantry companies, two mortar cannons from the artillery company, and one infantry gun, fighting your way slowly along the northern edge of the West Taihang Mountains. After taking a stronghold, go to the surrounding villages to publicize our policies, recruit new soldiers, and gradually spread the fame of our Independent Detachment!"

"I will lead one infantry company, the remaining artillery forces, the rescued civilians, and the more than 500 new guerrilla recruits provided by Captain Tian directly back to our base."

"I must return to quickly deploy and improve our military-industrial enterprises, striving to achieve self-sufficiency in mortar shells!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with joy. If they could achieve self-sufficiency in mortar shells, the Independent Detachment could continuously employ artillery surprise tactics without worrying about a shortage of shells, making it much easier to fight the Japanese in the future. Moreover, if they established a military factory, the Independent Detachment would be one of a kind among the Eighth Route Army!

Forgive these commanders and fighters for their vague understanding of the difficulty of establishing a military factory. They had no idea how much supporting equipment and infrastructure were required just to build a factory capable of producing only hand grenades and mortar shells.

At the very least, it required a comprehensive chemical plant to produce sulfuric acid and nitric acid, which in turn would produce Hexogen and TNT explosives, as well as the chemical compounds needed for fuses and detonators;

At the very least, it required a steel mill to produce steel for bombs (cast iron could be used as a makeshift substitute, but that still required a large number of blast furnaces and other facilities to replace a steel plant);

At the very least, it required a mechanical processing plant, because mortar shell casings were cut using lathes.

At the very least, it required a precision assembly plant, because installing explosives, detonators, and fuses into hand grenades and mortar shells required extremely careful handling, and non-standard procedures could easily lead to explosions.

In addition, it had to be supported by a small power plant, small coal mines, iron mines, and so on.

And this was just for producing the simplest hand grenades and mortar shells. If one wanted to achieve freedom in bullet production, even more supporting factories and equipment would be needed (even in the 21st century, most countries in the world cannot produce their own bullets, which shows how difficult it is to build a military-industrial base).

Of course, if they merely produced black powder hand grenades and mortar shells like the Shuiyaozi Arsenal, it would be much simpler, but the destructive power would also be greatly reduced!

Naturally, although Liu Changqing and the others did not fully grasp the difficulty of establishing a military-industrial enterprise, they knew that neither the Red Army nor the Eighth Route Army in 1938 had ever achieved independent production of mortar shells; the difficulty involved was undoubtedly immense. However, Zhang Yun's development speed over the past three or four months had been too rapid, and his battle achievements too magnificent. Seeing him speak with such confidence, they placed their heartfelt trust in him.

Hearing Zhang Yun's deployment, Liu Changqing solemnly promised, "Don't worry, Captain. You can go back and arrange the military factory with peace of mind. If it's just guerrilla warfare and surprising these small strongholds, I can definitely bring the troops back safely and recover the spoils of war."

Zhang Yun still held great confidence in this. At present, these two infantry companies and the artillery company not only possessed strong firepower, but also had a high proportion of veterans from the Red Army. The commanders and fighters, including Liu Changqing, possessed rich experience in guerrilla warfare. If they didn't have to worry about the consumption of firearms and ammunition, the mobility of the troops in the mountains alone would render them invincible.

"Capturing strongholds is not the goal, and seizing spoils is not the goal either. The most important thing is that after taking a stronghold, you must actively go down to the local townships to conduct propaganda and tour every single village in the townships where the strongholds are located."

"Don't be stingy with bullets and shells, and don't hoard captured firearms. You must actively support local anti-Japanese forces and spread the reputation of our Independent Detachment far and wide."

Everyone nodded in agreement.